Ensuring Community Health Initiatives Are Built to Last

This year, hospitals nationwide are preparing for the fifth round of comprehensive community health needs assessments (CHNA). Conducted every three years, these assessments are crucial for creating federally mandated Community Health Implementation Plans (CHIP) that address health disparities and social determinants of health. These 2025 CHIPs must be strategically aligned with community benefit reporting.

Nonprofit hospitals are required to provide community benefits as part of their tax-exempt status under federal and state laws, particularly the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and IRS guidelines. Each year, hospitals publish a Schedule H to detail their investments in community needs. This report includes both narrative explanations and financial data on community benefit activities.

Healthcare systems know the requirements, and through the reports they see the needs in their communities. But the transition from community health planning to implementation remains challenging. Community health managers and executives often face questions such as: Where do we start? Who should be involved in planning? How do we secure partner investments to ensure long term sustainability? And how do we measure success in improving community well-being?

In this post, we will explore what community health initiatives are, why they are important, and how they contribute to achieving health equity.

What are Community Health Initiatives?

Community health initiatives are strategic efforts aimed at improving the health and well-being of populations within a specific geographic area. These initiatives focus on addressing important health and social factors-such as access to care, housing, healthy food access, health education, and even employment.

According to the American Heart Association, about 80% of a person's health is influenced by factors other than clinical care. The most important health factors include the conditions in which people live, work, pray, and age.​

Community health initiatives often involve collaborations between healthcare providers, local governments, non-profit organizations, and community members. These partnerships are essential for identifying the unique health needs of the community and developing tailored interventions. Examples of community health initiatives include programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity, provide mental health support, reduce substance abuse, and improve access to medical care.

The importance of community health initiatives cannot be overstated. They are crucial for reducing health disparities and ensuring that all community members have the opportunity to achieve optimal health. By focusing on prevention and early intervention, these initiatives help to reduce the burden on healthcare systems, improve quality of life, and create healthier, more resilient communities.

Effective community health initiatives not only address immediate health concerns but also work towards long-term, sustainable health improvements by fostering environments that support healthy choices and behaviors. Below are several strategies to ensure your community health initiatives are built to last.

Identify a Priority Area

Using the data collected in your hospital's most recent CHNA is a great place to start. As you consider the data, it is important to understand what you are currently doing in the community and what other hospitals are doing to address health disparities in your service region. For example, if a local hospital is providing a robust cancer screening program and your hospital excels in diabetes prevention and self-management, consider building upon what you are already good at. Look for opportunities where your strengths align with the community's needs and address those gaps that are still unmet. This alignment can help you develop services or programs that address health disparities within your area of expertise. By focusing on what your hospital does best, you can create innovative and authentic solutions that significantly impact the community.

Tip: Health care systems can align their existing community benefit budgets by directly investing in the top CHNA priority area. Create a master community benefit cost center across the system so that financial transactions can be tracked and shared in real time. One cost center promotes one mission and eliminates spending in silos. A master community benefit cost center also makes end of year financial reporting easier, such as completing a Schedule H.

Consider the "WHY"

Why do you want to play a role in addressing this social issue? How is your organization positioned to help in a given space-say, the bridge between housing and health? Start with purpose and develop your framework from there. A public health tool framing collective impact can allow you to create the vision of why, how, and with whom. Here is one option from UC San Diego if you don't have your own tool.

Many examples and studies highlight the success of collective impact tools in healthcare, making them essential for fostering collaboration, ensuring alignment of efforts, leveraging resources, and driving systemic change. By bringing together diverse stakeholders with a common goal, it enhances the capacity to address complex health issues and improve overall health outcomes.

Tip: Get colleagues to buy into your "why" early by creating a small working group. Involving a diverse set of experts early in the process allows you to gain weight for your concept and creates a sense of excitement for building the case for change. Remember to include community-based experts such as nonprofit leaders, local health department liaisons, school health officers, faith-based partners, YMCA representatives, food bank coordinators, and housing agency leaders.

Find Community Partners and Funding Partners

Hospitals cannot solve society's complex health and social needs alone. To drive real change, partnerships need to include community members, local nonprofit organizations, and even local health departments.

Additionally, the business of health can be expensive. Community health managers should make sure their Foundations have a seat at the table to work to attract outside donors. Co-investment strategies in community health really do ensure everyone is working towards the same goal. And, just as health systems seek to serve as change agents, many corporate partners are looking to align their social impact funding in a way that can have a measurable impact and help them to live out their values. Identify like-minded partners with the mission, funding, and resources to help you grow the program's reach.

Tip:Invite your Foundation colleagues to the table early in the process. They may have funders in mind that could be an excellent match.

Measure, Share and Communicate your Data

It is your job to create the best possible program. To ensure it's built to last, you must be relentless in measuring your impact and sharing your progress. Track key results and review them regularly to guide your actions. Host monthly check-ins with everyone involved to discuss updates, celebrate wins, and tackle challenges together. Always seek feedback from partners, community members, and stakeholders to keep the program relevant and effective.

Be transparent about your successes and setbacks to build trust and encourage teamwork. Partner with local community organizations to expand your reach and gain support. Use the Common Agenda tool from the Collective Impact Framework to ensure everyone stays on the same page, focusing on shared goals and agreed-upon metrics. Regularly revisit and update your common agenda to stay aligned and adaptable. Open communication and collaboration are essential for making a lasting impact and achieving long-term success.

Tip: Start by presenting your information in a logic model. Use the Common Agenda tool from collective impact framework to ensure you are sharing and measuring the same information that partners and stakeholders agreed to earlier in the process.

Get your Board on board

You may be fortunate enough to already have your CEO's support. If not, you must relentlessly share your "community health story" with the C-suite and Board. Trustees have a key role to play in guiding the hospital's trajectory by balancing different essential priorities. With proper communication, data sharing, and mission anchoring, obtaining Board buy-in is possible. Further, pitching a new program with partner funding underscores that the community sees a pressing need.

Tip: Invite your Board members to volunteer and experience the impact your program is having in the community firsthand. Create fun, regular opportunities for Board involvement to keep them engaged and excited about your community health efforts. Open communication and collaboration are key to making a lasting impact and achieving long-term success.

Transforming Healthcare Access: Virtua Health and Cherry Hill Free Clinic's Impactful Partnership

In New Jersey, approximately 7% of adults are without health insurance. When emergencies strike, these individuals often turn to local hospital emergency departments for care. But what happens after they leave the emergency department? This is where the inspiring partnership between the Cherry Hill Free Clinic (CHFC) and Virtua Health System steps in, transforming lives through accessible healthcare.

More than five years ago, CHFC and Virtua forged this dynamic community health partnership with a mission to provide primary care to the uninsured, ensuring that uninsured adults have a primary care medical home and receive continuous, quality healthcare. Virtua supports CHFC by aligning their community health initiatives with the Clinic's goals, enabling a robust support system that includes clinical leadership on the CHFC board, technology assistance, and significant community benefit investments for laboratory services.

This collaboration has had remarkable results. Since the partnership began, Cherry Hill Free Clinic has provided care to over 10,000 local residents, offering a lifeline to those who otherwise might have nowhere to turn. This initiative not only alleviates the burden on emergency departments but also fosters a healthier, more resilient community.

The commitment from both organizations highlights a powerful model of how healthcare systems can collaborate with community clinics to bridge gaps in care, ensuring that everyone, regardless of insurance status, has access to the medical services they need.

Is your hospital foundation ready to make the move to more equity-driven grantmaking to address gaps in care? Check out the white paper, Equity-Driven Grantmaking: Transforming Hospital Foundations for Community Well-Being.

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